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L M Grimaldi

Publications and source records attributed to L M Grimaldi.

88 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

An isoelectric focusing study in herpes simplex virus encephalitis.

To establish an early reliable diagnostic test for herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 encephalitis (HSVE), we used isoelectric focusing (IEF) and an IEF-overlay technique with radiolabeled HSV glycoprotein B (gB) to study 7 serum and 12 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 12 patients with presumed or biopsy-proved HSVE. Blood-brain barrier damage and increased intra-blood-brain barrier IgG synthesis were detected in 5 of the 7 patients with HSVE. CSF oligoclonal bands were found in 6 of 11 patients. Using an IEF-overlay technique, we detected anti-gB antibody in all serum (7 of 7) and in 10 of 12 CSF samples. Anti-gB antibody was found in 4 of 6 CSF specimens obtained within the first week of disease (days 3 to 5) and in all samples collected later in the disease. The pH range of anti-gB antibody activity was broad (4.5 to 9.5), indicating a heterogeneous immune response to HSV. A hematogenous origin of the CSF antibody was suggested because anti-gB antibody appeared in serum before matched CSF and because both serum and matched CSF had a similar antibody IEF pattern. Local production of anti-gB antibody was suggested in some cases because of a greater prominence of anti-gB antibody in CSF than in matched sera and because CSF oligoclonal bands had anti-gB antibody activity. In contrast, only one of 6 CSF samples from patients with multiple sclerosis had gB antibody activity; in this case, anti-gB antibody activity did not correspond in isoelectric point location to oligoclonal bands.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Oligoclonal IgG bands in cerebrospinal fluid and serum during asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from asymptomatic patients seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) showed frequent evidence of intrathecal IgG synthesis and oligoclonal IgG bands, with different isoelectric focusing patterns in serum and CSF; 2 of 7 had a CSF pleocytosis. The results suggest frequent, early, chronic central nervous system infection following HIV infection.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

HTLV-I-associated myelopathy: oligoclonal immunoglobulin G bands contain anti-HTLV-I p24 antibody.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy (HAM) and tropical spastic paraparesis belong to a new group of neurological diseases associated with retroviral infection. An HTLV-I-like virus has recently been implicated in multiple sclerosis as well. We studied paired cerebrospinal fluid and serum specimens from HAM and multiple sclerosis patients by isoelectric focusing and an isoelectric focusing HTLV-I p24 overlay technique to clarify the role of HTLV-I in these diseases. We detected oligoclonal bands by isoelectric focusing with silver-staining in cerebrospinal fluid, but not serum, from all 5 HAM and all 9 multiple sclerosis patients. An isoelectric focusing HTLV-I p24 overlay technique demonstrated anti-p24 antibody in HAM cerebrospinal fluid at a different pI distribution than that seen in paired serum, indicating local synthesis of anti-p24 antibody within the central nervous system. Oligoclonal bands in HAM cerebrospinal fluid corresponded in pI distribution to anti-p24 antibody activity, suggesting the presence of an ongoing HTLV-I infection in the central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis patients had no evidence of anti-HTLV-I activity by p24 radioimmunoprecipitation assay, Western immunoblots, or isoelectric focusing HTLV-I p24 overlay analysis. Our data support a role for HTLV-I as an etiological agent in HAM, but not in multiple sclerosis.

Blotting, Western↗
PubMed1988

Intrathecal interferon in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

Three patients at Stage II of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) were treated with semipurified alpha-interferon (IFN) using different combinations of intrathecal and intravenous routes: 1 x 10(6) IU of alpha-IFN were given every other day up to a total of 15 x 10(6) IU. Transient improvement of neurological symptoms and electroencephalogram were noted in all 3, while cognitive function slightly improved in 2 of them. Clinical benefits gradually disappeared 2 to 6 months after cessation of IFN. Intrathecal antibody production did not change substantially, but CSF Leu 3a/Leu 2a ratio appeared to increase. No significant side effects were observed, except for a mild meningeal inflammatory reaction after each intrathecal administration of IFN.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

IgG1,3 and 4 oligoclonal bands in multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 10 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and 7 with other neurological diseases (OND) were studied in order to detect oligoclonal restriction of IgG subclasses 1,3 and 4. Agarose isoelectric focusing (AGA-IEF) followed by Western capillary blotting and immunoperoxidase staining with specific monoclonal antibodies were used. All MS samples showed oligoclonal IgG1 and 6 of them also had IgG3 or IgG4 bands. In the OND group only patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) and Guillain-Barré disease (GBD) showed CSF oligoclonal patterns for IgG subclasses. Our results demonstrate that in MS CSF other IgG subclasses beside IgG1 may display an oligoclonal pattern. The finding of more than one subclass in the same band indicates a microheterogeneous composition of these oligoclonal bands.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Oligoclonal IgA bands in multiple sclerosis and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

CSF oligoclonal IgG bands are often found in MS or cerebral diseases in which there is chronic antigenic stimulation. Using agarose isoelectric focusing followed by immunoblotting, we found oligoclonal IgA bands in CSF from 16 of 20 randomly selected patients with MS, 7 of 7 with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), and 0 of 10 with noninflammatory neurologic or psychiatric disease. IgA bands did not correlate with the course or stage of MS. Serial samples from two patients with MS and one with SSPE demonstrated only minor changes in IgA banding pattern. One MS patient without oligoclonal IgG bands had oligoclonal IgA bands, indicating that the latter test may be helpful in the diagnosis of MS.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stiff-man syndrome in a patient with Hodgkin's disease. An unusual paraneoplastic syndrome.

A case of stiff-man syndrome (SMS), a rare and dramatic CNS disease characterized by continuous muscle activity and painful spasms resembling a chronic form of tetanus, occurring in a patient with Hodgkin's disease (HD) is reported. The patient developed the clinical features of SMS at the same time as the HD relapse. A satisfactory improvement was obtained with diazepam, but the complete recovery from stiffness was achieved only after chemotherapy was started. Cerebellar autoantibodies were found in the serum of the patient. With chemotherapy the patient achieved a second complete remission (CR). Eighteen months later the patient developed a second HD relapse, and at that time no signs of SMS were detected.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapy of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis with intrathecal alpha-interferon].

Clinical benefits were noted in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis patients treated with a total of 15 x 10(6) I.U. of alpha-interferon administered intrathecally over a period of one month. Improvements did not correlate with major variations in anti-measles IgG titers or variation of pattern, IgG subclass or light chain composition of CSF oligoclonal bands.

Adolescent↗